Crimson Beauty
by LovelyScarletBlossom-16
Summary: Dark secrets of a forgotten clan makes its appearance in the form of a young pink haired girl, Haruno Sakura. Mystery shrouds the girl and everyone wants her. But why? Tsunade sent Team 7 to retrieve this girl in order to find out. Little did they know the impact this girl would have on the village and in the hearts of everyone who comes in contact with her. SASUSAKU pairing
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER! I don't own Naruto...although I wish I did...*sigh* oh well.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Tsunade slammed her fifth swig of sake down on the table. Her fatigued honey eyes shot up glaring at the team she ordered to her office before glancing back down at the scroll splayed before her on her desk. "As I'm sure you are all aware, there are rumors of S class shinobi hiding something at the country's borders. This 'something' is what I want you all to retrieve. From the evidence found it does not seem to be a scroll, but a person. Why these shinobi are so desperate to keep this person hidden is unknown."

Tsunade shifted her gaze back up to meet the eyes of team 7 before continuing. Each member seemed more interested after that bit of information. "There is, what we assume to be, a base along the border which has recently been heavily guarded. Last week I sent a team of anbu to investigate." She bowed her head slightly towards her desk. "This scroll was all that came back." The air in the room suddenly became heavier.

Tsunade surveyed each member's face.

The team consisted of three boys around the age of seventeen. On the left was Uzumaki Naruto, a boy of immense strength and jinchuriki to the nine tailed fox. He stared straight into the Hokage's eyes, his own hardening practically screaming he was up for a challenge. In the middle was Uchiha Sasuke, a well known prodigy and heir to the Uchiha clan. He remained stoic as ever but underneath his onyx orbs she could see interest swirling beneath the surface. On the far right was Sai, a former member of ROOT serving as a temporary member due to there not being enough graduates to equally provide each team with a three man cell. Tsunade's eyes drifted toward the door last to address the presence of their seemingly uninterested former teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

"Unfortunately there is hardly any information about the person you must find. All that is clear is that said person is believed to be female and locked in the chamber on the far left side of the base."

"How do you know that?"

Tsuande focused her attention on the blonde haired boy who just spoke. "Because that is the room that is the most guarded." From the looks she was receiving from the team she could tell that they were a bit skeptical on the matter. Tsunade sighed as she took another swig of sake before she continued, this time her eyes clouded in dark curiosity. "It was also mentioned that an ominous chakra was shrouding that area and the tortured screams of a female were heard from that chamber."

The blonde stepped forward with a determined look on his face. "This sounds like a heroic rescue mission." He broke out into a grin, "I'm ready!"

"Wait," Sai spoke for the first time "Why exactly do we need to retrieve this girl?" Tsunade smirked, "because she has something these S class criminals want. This means she most likely has something I want. She could benefit us should she be on our side. Otherwise she may become a great threat if she remains with them."

"Understood."

"Good. You have now been assigned to this S Class mission and are to begin tomorrow at dawn. You are all dismissed!" Her voiced boomed before swiveling around in her chair, leaving them to exit.

"Now, what ability do you possess little girl?" Tsunade mumbled to herself staring out her office window.

* * *

><p>"Finally an S class mission! I've grown tired of these measly escort missions," Naruto grunted in distaste as he leaned against the entrance of the village gate.<p>

"Make sure you don't slow us down dobe. This is a mission that won't allow screw ups." Sasuke retorted in a stuck up manner as he moved to stand across from the blonde. Naruto shot him a fierce glare that Sasuke shot right back at him. Sai merely gazed at them with his infamous fake smile plastered on his face.

"Now, now you guys save the fighting for the battlefield," Kakashi spoke as he strode up to the boys with his head buried behind the orange book in his hand. Naruto and Sasuke broke eye contact with a huff before following Kakashi's lead out of the village with Sai close behind.

They traveled in a basic diamond formation with Kakashi in the front, Naruto and Sasuke flanked behind him, and Sai following up at the rear. Silence loomed over the team as the weight of this mission began to sink in. Even Kakashi had discarded his book back into his holster leaving no cause for distractions. Each member wondered what they were going to face once they reached the border. It was always a bit unnerving when an anbu group does not return after a mission. The limited information of the S class shinobi involved and the female in question posed as another cause for anxiety.

After about two hours of traveling through the trees they began to slow down their pace as they steadily approached the supposed location of the hidden base. Kakashi held his hand up signaling for the others to stop as the base came into view. He glanced back at them briefly before ushering them forward. They each sensed about fifteen shinobi present in the base. A larger amount was felt at the far left chamber right where Tsunade has specified. Approximately eight shinobi were down that hall. However Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he realized something was missing. He glanced at his teammates to see if they were thinking the same thing. By the hardened expressions on their faces they were. Where is the dark chakra?

There was nothing special about any of the chakra signatures within the base. Naruto turned his attention to Kakashi as he asked, "Is it possible that they moved the girl to another location?" Kakashi continued to stare at the base as he responded, "I was thinking the same thing. After all it's not unusual for something like that to happen." It was at that moment a large surge of charka spiked in the base and each member of team 7 became quickly alert again.

"So much for that theory," Sasuke grunted as they all sprinted into the base. Right after entering they were soon met with five men. Naruto quickly made kage bunshins and stormed into action as a flurry of kunai assaulted them. He easily evaded them as team 7 moved forward fluidly. Sasuke quickly activated his sharingan and wasted no time cutting down the shinobi. Within seconds team 7 came out as victorious.

"That was surprisingly simple…" Naruto mussed in a puzzled manner.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Sasuke his onyx orbs flashing underneath his sharingan. Kakashi glanced over the fallen shinobi. "That must mean that they needed the more powerful shinobi where it is needed most right now," Kakashi said as he shared a meaningful look with his team. They all then glanced down the hall toward the left corridor. All of a sudden the base shook as another large surge of chakra erupted from down the hall. A cold chill ran down their spines as the air suddenly became cold and began to feel like it was choking them.

"Sai, draw up a rat and have it survey the area down that hall," Kakashi commanded trying to suppress the alarm seeping into his tone.

"Hai!" Sai quickly complied as his paint brush glided over the paper in fine but quick delicate strokes. A small rat immerged from the paper and then proceeded to scamper down the hall turning left. Sai let out a gasp after a few moments his eyes widening as a startled look crossed his usually unexpressive face.

"What?!" Naruto quickly prompted.

"…" Sai continued to stare blankly ahead where the rat disappeared from sight.

"Sai! What happened damn it?!" Naruto was quickly growing impatient, Sasuke and Kakashi as well however they weren't the type to act out.

"They are all dead."

"What do you mean they are all dead? Isn't there suppose to be like ten other guys?" Naruto yelled.

Sai shot Naruto a glare as he spoke his next words sharply, "they are all dead and there is an extremely thick black chakra coming from that chamber."

Naruto gulped, taking in that information before quickly setting his face in a stern frown as he dashed down the hall to inspect what the hell happened.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled.

Sasuke clenched his jaw as he sprinted after the blonde idiot, the other two hot on his heels. Once they rounded the corner they saw Naruto staring into the room a look of shock on his face. The dark chakra long gone. They sprinted to join his side and gazed into the room their guard on high alert only to be shocked by what they saw.

"No way," Naruto breathed out.

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><p>AN:Sooooo this is my first story yay! I've read so much naruto fanfiction and thought it was time to give it a shot so I picked up an old story after doing some Composition homework and went for it :D I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"No way," Naruto breathed out.

The other members of Team 7 peered into the dark room with calculating eyes. The room was stone from the floor to the ceiling. There were no windows, no furniture, and only one torch was lit near the door giving an ominous glow to the room. The metallic scent of fresh blood was mixed with the scent of mold and something else. But what? Sasuke's eyes drifted to the far right corner of the room. There he noticed several shackles haphazardly thrown to the side.

'hn…there seems to have been more than just this girl who took residency in this room,' Sasuke thought as he slid his eyes to the wall directly across from him. It would explain that other smell he couldn't pinpoint earlier. The lingering scent of old corpses.

Sasuke stared at the girl across from him. She seemed to be around seventeen.

'Same age as me,' he silently remarked. "How the hell could that chakra come from something so small?" Sasuke said barely above a whisper.

He continued to analyze the girl. Her hands were chained above her head and ankles chained to the floor forcing her to assume a kneeling position. She wore a white short sleeved dress that stopped a few inches above her knees. It looked too small, like she'd worn only that article of clothing for years. It was stained with blood and was furiously tattered and torn. It was a pathetic excuse for clothing but it kept her modestly covered. However it couldn't hide the deep bruises that littered her body, suggesting previous torture.

Her head was dipped slightly forward causing her long hair to obscure her face from view. She hung limp against her chains signaling that she was most likely unconscious.

Kakashi was the first to move into the room, slowly approaching her, sharingan activated. The boys approached her just as cautious taking note not to pass Kakashi. Upon further examination, Sasuke's earlier observation proved to be true. She was unconscious. Kakashi worked to gently remove her shackles. Once they were all successfully removed he slid his arm around her waist lifting her up bridal style, careful not to move her more than necessary.

It was then that they all got a good look at her face.

Her skin was deathly pale from lack of sunlight. Dry blood caked several areas of her face and successfully matted some of her hair as well. But underneath the grime they could see that she truly was a beautiful young girl. She had small pouty pale pink lips, thick luscious lashes that nearly touched her cheeks, and her facial features soft and angelic.

Sasuke absentmindedly wondered what her eyes looked like open.

"Okay you guys. Let's go," Kakashi abruptly said as they made their exit.

* * *

><p>"Hokage-sama," Shizune prompted.<p>

"What is it?" Tsunade asked lifting her eyes to meet her assistant.

"Team 7 has just returned with the girl. They are headed this way as we speak."

"Good. Thank you Shizune."

Shizune bowed slightly before making her exit.

Tsunade shuffled the papers on her desk piling them onto the left side of her desk to look over later. Sighing she placed her elbows on her desk lacing her fingers together as she rests her chin on top of her hands. Just as she closes her eyes the doors to her office burst open revealing the loud blonde member of Team 7. The others quietly trailing behind him.

"Hey baa-chan we're back!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

Tsunade brought her hands up to the side of her face beginning to massage her temples. Irritation seeps into her voice as she addresses the blonde.

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock? AND STOP CALLING ME BAA-CHAN!"

Naruto simply snickered in response. With a huff Tsunade glanced toward Kakashi to see the small bundle in his arms. Her eyes widened a fraction.

"That's the girl?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We had a similar reaction," Kakashi stated slightly amused his eyes crinkling at the corners. He moved toward the center of the room so Tsunade could get a better look at the girl. Tsunade stood to meet him and peered down at the girl currently sleeping in his arms.

"Not exactly what I expected," Tsunade quietly pondered to herself. She surged green chakra through her hand as she rested it upon the girl's chest to asses her condition. The girl had two broken ribs but nothing serious. It was obvious though that this girl had sustained a large amount of injuries from her captors and went untreated. Many of her injuries were not properly healed. Tsunade then went to assess the girl's chakra storage but felt a sharp searing pain shoot through her body when she tried. Quickly retracting her hand Tsunade noticed her hand took on a slightly black tint.

"That's troubling," Tsunade said eyes narrowing. Luckily the tint was only temporary because her hand eventually regained its color after a few moments.

"What the hell?" Naruto said.

Sasuke, Sai and Kakashi were looking at Tsunade with suppressed alarm. After all they had all felt first hand some of what that chakra's capable of, albeit none had come into physical contact.

"Looks like I'll have to wait till she wakes up to do any further assessments. For now take her to the hospital. She has a few broken ribs and other injuries I would like to attend to." Tsunade said.

"Is that really such a good idea Hokage-sama?" Sai asked skeptically. "Isn't she a threat right now? It doesn't seem like mere chakra suppressing bands will do us any good assuming we use them. Is it really in our best interest to have her fully healed?"

"I understand where you're coming from, but don't worry. She will be placed in one of the rooms far from our regular patients and it's very secure. Plus she is not here as a prisoner, but as a refugee. As you can see she was not with those criminals at her own volition."

"Yes, I understand Hokage-sama. Please excuse me."

"Now Kakashi if you would please."

"Yes ma'am," Kakashi said as he teleported out of the room.

"You three are dismissed," Tsunade stated addressing the three remaining boys. They bowed slightly before also teleporting out of the hokage office.

* * *

><p>As Sakura's conscious slowly began to surface she could hear a faint beeping noise coming from her left. Its steady pulse lulled her yet made her uneasy. However she had no idea why it set her on edge.<p>

Her body felt heavy, like she was made of lead, and it was difficult to breathe. It was as if the air in the room was pressing heavily against her chest. As the seconds ticked by she became painstakingly aware of where she was at; the thick scent of antiseptics assaulting her senses. It was something she would never forget.

A wave of panic racked her body as her eyes shot wide open, her body tense. When she jerked she noticed her wrists and ankles were restrained to the bed. That was when all hell broke loose. The rapid acceleration of her heart beat echoed in the room as the heart monitor's beeping became frantic. The frightened girl thrashed against the bed desperately trying to break free.

In the midst of her panic the distant sound of quickly approaching footsteps registered in her mind.

'They're coming!' She screamed in her head. Her previously bruised wrists and ankles now began to bleed as she thrashed harder against her restraints. 'Wait….whose they?'

Then she suddenly froze, her blood going cold, as the door to the room was thrown open. However a different face than what she was expecting appeared through the doorway.

The woman standing before her had honey colored eyes, was well endowed, and had long blonde hair that was pulled into pig tails. A small purple diamond adorned her forehead. Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion. She had never seen this woman before. Tsunade caught this look on the girls face.

"Relax. I'm not here to harm you"

Due to Sakura's state of distress she never took the time to properly observe her surroundings. She took this moment to scan the room. It wasn't hard to figure out that she was not in her usual medical facility. Although this room also contained no windows, the presence of furniture was defiantly a contrast. In the far corner to her right there were two cushioned chairs facing opposite of each other while a small coffee table stood in the middle, a few magazines scattered on top. As she slid her eyes left she noticed a small bed side table was right beside her. The overall atmosphere of the room was totally different.

Tsunade watched the girl intently noticing the way her body relaxed slightly after registering her surroundings. Tsunade slide the door shut behind her as she slowly approached the girl in front of her.

"I'm Tsunade," she prompted, her professional tone kicking in. "We are currently in the Hidden Leaf village, Konoha. I assume you've heard of Konoha." She was met with a blank stare from the young girl.

'So she hasn't heard of it. Just where is this girl from?' Tsunade's eyes suddenly widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The girl continued to stare at her, so she took this as an okay to continue.

"What is your name?"

"Sakura….Haruno Sakura"

"Do you remember how you got here?"

"No."

"Why did those men want you?"

"I-I don't know."

Tsunade's eyes hardened, scrutinizing the girl.

"You don't know?"

Sakura tried to shake her head 'no' but flinched instead as it sent a sharp pain through her chest. Now that her adrenaline was gone the pain she caused from thrashing around earlier suddenly began to register. Tsunade noticed this and gathered healing chakra to her hands before placing them on the girl's chest. Sakura jerked away from her frightened, but as the soothing chakra coursed through her body, she began to relax into Tsunade's touch. The pain was soon replaced with this gentle warmth.

"Two of your ribs were already broken when a team of Konoha ninja retrieved you," Tsunade said as she moved her hands from one side of Sakura's ribcage to the other, "I'll also heal the deep bruises littering your body."

A small smile crept onto the beautiful girl's face as all the pain in her body subsided.

"Sakura, do you remember anything before you were with those men? How long were you with them?" Tsunade continued as she retracted her hands, now finished healing the girl.

That question took Sakura by surprise.

"I don't remember anything before I was with them," she said her eyes glazing over looking distant, "and I was only with them for a little over a week."

"If that's true, now come you were so panicked when I first arrived?"

Sakura's eyes widened her lips parting in a silent gasp. Her previously expressionless face replaced with one full of shock and confusion.

"Why did I react that way?" she mumbled to herself. "All I know is when I first woke up, the smell of this room frightened me to no end. A-and when I noticed I was tied to the bed…." She said glancing at her wrists lightly tugging at the restraints. "I felt like something terrible was going to happen to me if I didn't free myself," Sakura finished, closing her eyes tightly, wishing desperately that the restraints would disappear and she could wrap her arms around herself.

Tsunade's eyes softened. She didn't know what possessed her to do this but she gently began to take the restraints off of Sakura. Something about this girl made Tsunade want to put her at ease. Sakura's emerald eyes shot up to meet Tsunade's honey colored ones. Sakura's lightly watering in silent gratitude.

This caused Tsunade to freeze in her tracks, her hand hovering over the last restraint on Sakura's wrist. 'What am I doing? This girl may look innocent but she's extremely dangerous.' Tsunade stood up straight, a stern look on her face as she stared at the young girl before her.

"Sakura." Tsunade's hard voice startled Sakura. "You have to swear that if I take this off you, you won't do anything dangerous."

That line totally confused Sakura.

"What do you mean don't do anything dangerous?"

A surge of anger pulsed through Tsuande as she thought the girl was testing her pactience, feigning complete innocence. However, upon further inspection she saw that Sakura honestly had no recollection of that dark chakra. So Tsunade finally released her allowing Sakura to sit straight. This caused the gown to slightly slip off her left shoulder giving Tsunade a quick glimpse.

Tsunade's hand quickly shot out and grabbed the girl. Sakura jumped at the sudden contact. She looked at Tsunade to see a startled expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"What is that on your shoulder?"

Puzzled Sakura gazed over her left shoulder to see markings of some sort. She tugged hard at the collar of her dress to reveal a large seal on her shoulder blade.

"What on earth..." Sakura trailed off inspecting the drawing. It looked like one large cherry blossom flower with five petals. Each petal had a symbol on it but she couldn't tell what it meant.

Tsunade brushed her fingertips over the markings. She knew that this seal held the answers to a lot of unanswered questions.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer! xDDD

Oh btw for those who may think Sakura is OOC I'm basing this Sakura on how I think she would have grown up had she never met Ino and became a brash fangirl. Not that I dislike that kind of Sakura but for the purpose of this fanfiction she's going to go about her strength a bit differently :) anyywhooo please enjoy!

"..." normal dialogue

'...' thoughts

'_italics'_ past

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

It's been almost a week since Sakura arrived in Konoha. However she only regained consciousness two days ago. She has yet to make any form of contact with others aside from Tsunade. If Sakura is not in her hospital room she is resting in Tsunade's office, occupying herself with the vast assortment of books and scrolls available to her. She made the couch near the windows on the right side of Tsunade's office her new home.

Sakura shifted from her laying position on the couch swinging her legs to the side placing herself upright. She was wrapping up a scroll on basic medical jutsu. She hadn't quite understood it, but it fascinated her nonetheless.

The sun's rays poured through the large windows behind her gently grazing her shoulders. It formed a halo behind her head giving her hair and skin a soft glow. Her hair was free of dirt and blood, cascading softly behind her back. The sun caused different hues of pastel pink to dance in the light giving the appearance of highlights. Her skin was no longer enveloped in purpling and yellowing bruises, and no longer a ghastly white color. It was smooth and creamy. She resembled a porcelain doll.

Her old ragged clothing had been discarded days ago and now she wore a loose fitted white v-neck shirt, black spandex shorts that were a little shorter than mid-thigh, and black ninja sandals that stopped three inches before her knees. She stood up from the couch and walked over to the bookshelf lining the wall on her left.

"Finished already?" Tsunade asked not looking up from the scattered papers thrown across her desk.

"Yes, although I didn't quite understand it," Sakura said placing the scroll back on the third shelf. She turned her head to look at Tsunade before continuing, "Since you are able to gather chakra to your hands, does that mean you can gather it to other areas of your body?"

Still looking down occupied with the paper on her desk Tsunade replied absentmindedly, "Yes it's possible, it's a similar idea to gathering chakra to your feet to walk up trees or over water. I've used it to enhance my strength in combat."

"hmmm…" Sakura droned bringing her eyes back to the bookshelf, "you have a lot of medical books….and you healed me very nicely….I take it you used to be an active field medic?" She asked.

"Yes. A long time ago," Tsunade said in a way that insinuated she was done with the topic.

Sakura shifted her gaze from the scrolls in front of her to her outstretched arm observing her new, no longer bruised, skin. 'A medic ninja…'

Tsunade lifted her eyes from the paper in front of her surveying the look on the pink haired girl's face. Her eyes were heavily lidded suddenly vacant of emotion. This girl fascinated Tsunade. One moment the girl would be gently smiling at Tsunade with a soft blush adorning her cheeks, the next she was like a lifeless container. Then again she could only imagine the terrors the girl must have faced due to that dreaded power she possessed.

On that note Tsunade brought her eyes back down to the paper that had previously been occupying her attention, picking it up as she leaned back in her chair. It contained every bit of information she could gather about the girl in front of her and the peculiar seal on her left shoulder. So far she came up with nothing other than the meaning of the symbols on each petal. The first petal on the top read the word 'birth'. And as you read clockwise it progresses: youth, adult, elder…. The last word sent a chill down her spine.

**Death**.

'I'm not sure if this is just to ensure that the seal will remain intact for the duration of this girl's life, or if it foreshadows a series of stages her ability will go through.' She hoped it was the former.

A sudden movement from the corner of her eye brought her attention back to Sakura. She had just picked up another medical text before sauntering back to her previous spot on the couch. At first Tsunade thought that the only reason the girl read the medical books was to pass time, but she genuinely seemed to enjoy them. She seemed eager to learn.

"Do you wish to learn medical jutsu?" She caught herself saying. Only after the words left her mouth did she register the meaning behind those words. 'Damn why'd I ask that?'

Sakura's head quickly shot up to meet Tsunade's gaze a sheer look of excitement dancing in her emerald orbs.

"Could I really learn? Would you teach me?!"

The look on Sakura's face made it hard for Tsunade to take back her words.

"I'm sorry….I….I don't know why I asked that. Your chakra storage is different from regular shinobi, which may not allow such a thing to be possible. Also I don't know what level of training you've had before coming here. Medical jutsu requires an amazing amount of chakra control and years of training."

The dejected look on Sakura's face made Tsunade's heart clench.

"But…. I suppose we could assess your abilities at training ground 7 later. After all I have been meaning to check upon your level of skill." Tsunade smiled at Sakura.

Sakura beamed at Tsunade, her radiating smile warmed Tsunade's heart.

'I need to be careful. This girl's beginning to break down some of my walls and that's dangerous. I can't lose sight of the reason I brought her here in the first place. I need to know what she is capable of and how she obtained that chakra in the first place.' However that became increasingly difficult when the girl came with a severe case of amnesia. All she remembers is her name and the week she spent at that base.

"When can we go?" Sakura asked eager to head out at that moment. It was quite cute, her excitement.

"We can head out now."

* * *

><p>"haaaa," Naruto sighed as he plopped down on his back in the middle of the training ground. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to regain his breath. Sweat trickled down the side of his head glistening in the sunlight.<p>

"When was the last time we all sparred together like this?" Naruto asked as he looked over to his right to see Sasuke leaning against a tree, Sai situated on the floor next to him. Kakashi stood off toward the middle of the clearing seemingly interested in something in the distance.

"Too long," Sai said with that fake smile plastered to his face.

Sasuke nearly grunted in reply.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei! What are you looking at?!" Naruto yelled across the field, catching the attention of the other two boys as they also looked in Kakashi's direction.

"Seems like we got ourselves a visitor," Kakashi spoke nodding his head forward.

That was when the boys noticed the figure approaching them. Tsunade strolled towards them, a clipboard in hand.

"Hey Tsunade-baachan! What brings you here?" Suddenly the boys noticed their Hokage was not alone. A small figure popped out from behind Tsunade, walking slightly behind the blonde woman. They'd recognize that long pink hair anywhere.

'What's she doing here?' Sasuke thought.

Tsunade strode up to Kakashi in the middle of the clearing surprised to see the boys were there. 'I really shouldn't be surprised, after all this is their training ground.'

"Hey. I've brought this one along with me to do some training assessments. This is Haruno Sakura," Tsunade said motioning to the girl beside her. The pink haired girl shifted slightly, uncomfortable being scrutinized by all these men.

Sasuke stared at the girl now getting a good glimpse at her eyes, 'green.' It wasn't the contrast he would have expected with such hair color, but it surprisingly suited the girl very well.

"Sakura-chan huh?" Naruto said bouncing up to the girl.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you," he said extending his hand out toward the girl. She tentatively took it shaking it lightly. 'Wow she really is beautiful.' He remarked scanning her now conscious and clean appearance. He vaguely caught a sweet aroma from the girl as a gust of wind blew from behind her causing her hair to flitter over to the front of her body. He snapped out of his trance when he heard Sai introduce himself next.

"I'm Sai," he said also analyzing the girl.

"Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi said, his eyes crinkling at the corners slightly to imply that he was smiling at the timid girl before him.

Sakura nodded at each before her eyes trailed over to the raven haired boy that slowly approached her stopping next to Naruto. He stood a head taller than her, with a lean build. He had flawless white skin, deep onyx eyes, and hair that stood up slightly in the back. His bangs swept over his forehead with a few longer strands framing his face. It was a rather odd hairstyle but it looked remarkably handsome on him. He was stunning to say the least. Sakura could feel her face begin to burn, a light shade of pink tinting her cheeks. She quickly brought her eyes back to the floor before he could notice.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

His voice sent pleasurable chills down her spine, it was low and husky as it rumbled through his chest. She looked back up to meet his gaze. A small smile grazed her lips as she addressed him.

"Nice to meet you."

Now that she thought about it, each male here was actually quite handsome. She glanced at the other two boys. Naruto had vibrant blonde hair and a smile to match. His eyes were a gorgeous deep blue and his sun-kissed skin made them pop. He had three markings on each cheek that humorously reminded her of whiskers. The thought made her inwardly giggle.

Then there was Sai. Unlike Naruto he had very fair skin, deep charcoal eyes, and equally dark hair to match. Now that she thought about it, Sai and Sasuke actually resembled each other quite a bit, but Sai's choice of haircut was the exact opposite of Sasuke. It was cut short and fell down neatly around his face.

Finally there was Kakashi. His hair was a beautiful silver color and slightly spiked up to one side. The lower half of his face was obscured by the mask he wore and his hitai-ate covered his left eye. Although this gave her a limited idea on his appearance she had a feeling that with his relaxed manner and his mysterious aura, he was quite popular in his younger years.

"Sakura this is the team I sent to retrieve you a few days ago," Tsunade said bringing the girl's attention back to the woman beside her. Sakura's eyes widened as she glanced back to the group of men before her. 'So these are the people who saved me.' Sakura dipped her head down, bowing in gratitude.

"Thank you so much for saving me."

"It was no problem at all," Kakashi said. He brought is eyes back up from the girl to look at Tsunade. "You said you were here to assess the girl?"

"Yes, I'd like to see what kind of training she may have previously had, as well as her chakra control."

"Why don't you just ask her what kind of training she's received?" Naruto asked.

"If I could I would but this girl does not remember anything prior to the week she spent at the base you all brought her from. She could only give me her name." They all looked at Sakura surprised.

"Amnesia huh?" Sai mumbled.

"As far as training and chakra control, is it really safe to bring her out here to test that? How can you be sure that black chakra won't run rampant?" Sasuke asked, startling the others that the usually stoic boy decided to make an input.

"That's a good point Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, feeling unsure as well.

"Yes, I was initially concerned of that, but seeing as you are all here I would like to ask for your cooperation with this task."

Sakura decided to interject at this point, something had been bothering her for quite some time now, "why do you keep talking about this black chakra I have? Is it really that dangerous? Am I really that different?"

This caught Team 7 totally off guard.

"You mean you don't remember?!" Naruto nearly screamed.

Sakura shook her head no.

"What the hell…." He said hunching forward slightly, brows furrowing.

"I thought you said she remembered the time at the base," Sasuke said.

"Yes, but that seems to be the only other thing she doesn't quite remember."

"Well we shouldn't be all that surprised," Kakashi spoke up, "after all she was unconscious when we found her."

"That's true," the boys agreed, thinking back a few days to the hidden base.

"Okay on that note let's get started shall we?" Tsunade said, placing her free hand behind Sakura gently nudging her forward as the group strode over to the side of the field.

"First I'd like to see how you fare with hand to hand combat. Can we start with that?" She asked looking over to Sakura.

"Yeah!" Sakura beamed.

"Naruto you're up."

"Okayyy!" Naruto grinned as he and Sakura walked back to the center of the clearing.

"This is basic taijutsu. No chakra!" Tsunade reiterated.

She couldn't deny that she was a bit nervous at the probability of the girl accidently bringing forth that chakra and harming Naruto. But that is why she chose him for hand to hand combat. If anything were to happen she believed the kyuubi's chakra would null any of the possible effects Sakura's chakra could have, should he come in direct contact.

Naruto got into a firm stance waiting for Sakura to prepare herself as well. Her body moved into a stance mirroring the boy in front of her. She didn't know how well this would turn out but something in her gut told her she could do this.

"Ready? Begin!" Tsunade yelled across the clearing.

Naruto was the first to react, as eager as always to dive right into something. He was careful to keep his pace low in the beginning as he swung his right arm towards Sakura's right side. She easily blocked it with her left arm swiveling to the right at an incredible speed.

'Okay then. Looks like I don't have to go slow with her,' Naruto thought picking up speed.

For a few minutes they exchanged blows getting into a steady rhythm. Tsunade had to admit she was pretty impressed. Sakura was light on her feet and very agile. With every hit Naruto sent in her direction she would fluidly move away with a precise counter attack. As they picked up the pace once more Naruto got a little too excited and sent a hard kick to Sakura's stomach sending her back about 20ft into a tree.

"Shit!" Naruto said momentarily lowering his guard.

For a brief moment Sasuke noticed the girl smile before she ran back into the fray sending a powerful roundhouse kick in Naruto's direction. She got a clean hold of the left side of his neck barreling him to Sasuke and the others position near the tree line. They swiftly moved clear of the blonde as he slammed into the ground in front of them, **hard**.

"Stop." Tsunade called, "good job Sakura," she said as the girl walked back to meet them.

Sakura walked up to Naruto leaning over him as she extended her hand in front of him to help him up. With a grin Naruto firmly gripped her hand bringing him upright.

"That was an impressive kick there Sakura," Naruto chuckled praising the girl.

"Thank you so much for not going easy on me," Sakura said smiling tenderly at the boy before her.

"hehehe," Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head a blush creeping onto his face.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the exchange before turning his head in the other direction.

"Okay Sasuke, you're next," Tsunade said as she jot some things down on the clipboard in her arms.

"hn."

Sasuke pushed himself off the tree he was currently leaning against to walk past Sakura, not sparring her a glance, as he made his way to the field. Sakura turned back around quickly trailing behind Sasuke's fleeting form.

"Next is ninjutsu." Tsunade looked up from her clip board to the two standing in the middle of the clearing.

'This is where things get tricky,' Tsunade thought.

"Kakashi be ready to intervene if necessary," she sternly said as her nerves increased.

'Hopefully nothing happens like her spar with Naruto.' Tsunade thought.

But this time no one, not even Sakura herself, knew how well she could or couldn't control the black chakra. Tsunade couldn't even get near the girl's chakra reserves to see if, like Naruto, she had two separate reserves, one for regular chakra and one especially for the other type.

Sasuke got into a stance, activating his sharingan. He began calculating every movement of the girl across from him. If he drops his guard even for a second like Naruto had done earlier, it could cost him his life. Sasuke knew he was not weak and under normal circumstances he wouldn't feel threatened. However, he's never come in contact with chakra like hers before, and he knew that killing her was not an option.

Sakura watched as Sasuke activated his sharingan. She didn't waste time in preparing herself. Taking a deep breath she quickly closed her eyes. When she reopened them they were glazed over, her face expressionless. Tsunade recognized that face. It was the same face Sakura made in her office earlier when she was standing at the bookshelf.

'She's not with us right now, her mind is somewhere else.' Tsunade tensed. Kakashi noticed this from the corner of his eye and silently prepared himself for what may come.

Slowly Sakura brought her legs together digging her feet into the ground, her arms came up to the left side of her chest, 'My body is moving on its own,' she thought somewhere deep in the corners of her mind. Her hands clasped together forming the sign for 'hebi' before quickly shifting to 'tori' then 'kai'.

A hush fell over the clearing. The wind halted along with the sounds of wildlife. The chirping of birds and rustling of animals in the bushes ceased. The silence was deafening.

In the blink of an eye Sakura was right in front of Sasuke, kunai in hand. She swung at him, but he dodged it just in time. Jumping into the air a barrage of kunai rained down upon the girl. She successfully countered them but as the last one came into her field of vision she noticed the explosive tag on it.

'Oh no!' Sakura thought right when a large explosion erupted on the field. Chunks of debris rained down as the thick cloud of smoke began to clear. Sasuke searched for the girl through the smoke only to find a log where she'd previously been standing.

'Replacement jutsu,' he thought as he surveyed the area searching for pink.

Sasuke heard a whistling noise from behind him. It was the sound of a shuriken cutting through the air as it closed in on his back. He reflected it with his kunai causing a loud clashing sound as metal struck metal, the shuriken falling to the floor.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," Sasuke chastised the girl getting tired of this child's play. If this was really all she amounted to he was not impressed.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back.

'What the..."

Sasuke brought his hand to his back to feel the fabric of his shirt had been ripped open and blood was trailing down his shoulder.

Everyone looked in awe.

'How did she cut me? The shuriken was still an arm's length from my body when I reflected it.'

"That blade was chakra enhanced," Tsunade mumbled to herself, but the others heard her.

"Even if it was it shouldn't have been able to extend from the shuriken for more than a few inches." Kakashi retorted.

"Under normal circumstances yes," Tsunade said turning to her right to look at Kakashi, "but if she is a wind type user with the right amount of chakra control it's possible."

"So Sakura-chan didn't cut him with the shuriken but with her chakra?"

"Right."

As those words processed in her brain Tsunade's and everyone's blood ran cold. 'She cut him with her chakra?' They all snapped their heads in Sasuke's direction alarmed. However, Sasuke just stood there completely unfazed.

'What's going on?' Tsunade thought. 'So Sakura does have another chakra reserve like Naruto?' That's the only thing she could think of considering Sasuke seemed fine and there was no black discoloration to his skin like there was on Tsunade's hand when she tried to look into Sakura's reserves.

Sakura finally came out of her hiding place with ten kagebunshins beside her. They ran at Sasuke engaging in an intense battle of taijustu.

'She's faster than she was before,' Sasuke thought as it became increasingly difficult to fend off her attacks, but he was not an Uchiha for nothing. Sasuke jumped back quickly forming an array of hand signs.

"Katon goukakyuu no jutsu!" Fire erupted from his mouth successfully covering the ground in a sea of orange and red. However, the moment he eliminated Sakura's kagebunshins ten more came at him from behind. One of them managed to graze his side with a kick, causing another sharp pain to rack his body. He felt one of the ribs on his left side crack from the impact as he was thrown across the field.

"Did you see that Tsunade-baachan?! Sakura just used enhanced strength like you!" Naruto screamed.

"How did she…" Tsunade trailed off eyes wide, jaw slightly dropping. She suddenly thought back to her conversation with the Sakura earlier in her office.

"_Since you are able to gather chakra to your hands, does that mean you can gather it to other areas of your body?" Sakura asked._

_Still looking down occupied with the paper on her desk Tsunade replied, "Yes it's possible, it's a similar idea to gathering chakra to your feet to walk up trees or over water. I've used it to enhance my strength in combat."_

"_hmmm…" Sakura droned._

'Don't tell me…,' Tsunade contemplated the probability of Sakura being able to put that knowledge to use so quickly.

Sasuke stood up flinching slightly as he wrapped one arm around his fractured rib. He looked up to see more kagebunshins sprinting toward him.

'Enough with the kagebunshins!' Sasuke screamed in his head pissed off. He glared daggers at the bunshins cursing their existence. 'Let's just get this over with.'

He started to collect a large amount of chakra into his right hand. The ear piercing sound of birds echoed across the training grounds. A large crackling ball of blue lightning illuminated Sasuke's right hand.

"Chidori!" He yelled charging forward eliminating every bunshin in his path. As he approached the last one he heard a loud scream from behind him.

"Sasuke stop that's the real Sakura!" Kakashi's voice boomed.

But it was too late….

* * *

><p>AN: And here we have another cliff hanger :D sorry but I like them hehehe. Look at me go though, two chapters in one day...don't get used to it I just felt like writing.

please leave a review :) I love hearing your beautiful voices!


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